Wall Street Zen Upgrades Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) to "Hold"

Key Points

• Piedmont Realty Trust's rating was upgraded from "sell" to "hold" by Wall Street Zen, while other firms have set varying target prices for the stock.
• The company reported earnings of $0.36 per share for the latest quarter, slightly beating analyst estimates, but its revenue fell 2.1% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors are actively increasing their stakes in Piedmont Realty Trust, with over 84% of shares owned by hedge funds and other investors.

Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Piedmont Realty Trust from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 13th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Piedmont Realty Trust from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Piedmont Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.67.

Piedmont Realty Trust Price Performance

NYSE PDM traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $8.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 59,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 950,751. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of -15.06 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company's 50-day moving average is $7.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.23. Piedmont Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $5.46 and a fifty-two week high of $11.11.

Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. Piedmont Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 12.10% and a negative return on equity of 4.32%. The firm had revenue of $111.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $141.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Piedmont Realty Trust has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.380-1.440 EPS. Analysts forecast that Piedmont Realty Trust will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Piedmont Realty Trust

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Piedmont Realty Trust by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 90,251 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 17,855 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $1,313,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in Piedmont Realty Trust by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 254,856 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,332,000 after acquiring an additional 17,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Piedmont Realty Trust by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 180,887 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,655,000 after purchasing an additional 34,987 shares during the period. 84.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Piedmont Realty Trust Company Profile

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc (also referred to herein as "Piedmont" or the "Company") NYSE: PDM is an owner, manager, developer, redeveloper and operator of high-quality, Class A office properties located primarily in major U.S. Sunbelt markets. The Company is a fully-integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") with local management offices in each of its markets and is investment-grade rated by Standard & Poor's and Moody's.